De-icing composition and method

ABSTRACT

A composition for reducing the buildup of snow and ice on a surface. The composition includes a sugar-water mixture having approximately 15 to 80 percent by weight of a sugar solid, wherein the sugar solid contains approximately 2-60 percent by weight of a monosaccharide.

FIELD

[0001] This invention relates to a de-icing composition and method forreducing the buildup of snow and ice on roads and other outdoorsurfaces. More particularly, this invention relates to a de-icingcomposition and method that exhibits low corrosive affects, has a loweutectic point, and is environmentally safe.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Chloride salts have been applied on roads to inhibit theaccumulation of snow and ice for many years. Such chloride salts may beapplied to the surface of the road directly in solid form or inadmixture with water or some other liquid. Spreaders, for instance, mayapply solid or liquid de-icing compositions somewhat evenly over thesurface of roads. Other substances, such as sand, may also be applied tothe road with the solid or liquid composition having chloride salts totreat the roads and help reduce slipping on the road.

[0003] Brine solutions that contain high concentrations of earth metaland chloride ions are commonly used for application to roads. As long asthe concentration of ions in the brine solution remains high enough, thesolution remains in a liquid form and is useful as a de-icer. Once thesolution is diluted below a critical ion concentration for a specifictemperature, ice crystals begin to form in the solution and it is nolonger useful as a de-icer.

[0004] Chloride salts and brine solutions have numerous problems as roadde-icers. A first problem is that typical brine solutions containingchloride salts do not exhibit useful melting properties below, at thelowest, about −5 deg. F. A second problem is that such brine solutionsimpact the environment in negative ways. They may damage the soil andvegetation surrounding the road, in large part because of the salts,they may adversely impact surrounding lakes, rivers, or streams, and thecompounds may be absorbed into water supplies. A final problem is thatsuch brine solutions may exhibit corrosive effects, damaging vehicles onroads as well as the structure of the roads themselves. Many states havetherefore limited the use of salt on roads.

[0005] De-icing compositions and methods have been developed thatpartially solve some of the above problems of prior de-icingcompositions and methods. U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,918 to Toth et al., forinstance, discloses an anti-freeze composition for prohibiting thebuildup of snow and ice that contains, as a primary component, a wasteconcentrate of the alcohol distilling industry. U.S. Pat. Nos.5,635,101; 5,709,812; and 5,709,813, all of which name Janke et al. asinventors, disclose the use of steepwater solubles from the wet millingprocess for corn, whey, and wine making residue respectively as theprimary ingredients in de-icing compositions. According to thesepatents, the compositions disclosed therein provide environmental andcorrosive-inhibiting benefits over salt de-icers.

[0006] These prior art de-icing compositions also have numerousdisadvantages and problems. The freezing point of such de-icingcompositions are typically not as low as may be desirable. Suchcompositions may contain a higher level of insoluble material than isdesirable, which makes it more difficult to mix into liquid de-icerswhich may be easily spread onto roads. These de-icing compositions mayalso contain materials that may be harmful to the environment. Forinstance, some steepwater solubles compositions contain a large amountof phosphorus, which may be harmful to the environment. Typicalsteepwater solubles de-icing compositions have a pH around 3.0. Becausea neutral pH (7.0) or a pH as close to neutral as possible is desirablefor the environment, such steepwater solubles de-icing compositions mayharm the environment.

[0007] An improved de-icing composition and method is needed that isenvironmentally safe, has a low freezing point and thus melts a largeamount of snow and ice by suppressing ice crystal formation, exhibitslow corrosive effects, and that maintains a high viscosity at lowtemperatures. Such a de-icing composition and method preferably solvesthe above problems of prior art de-icing compositions and is inexpensiveto produce in large quantities.

SUMMARY

[0008] One embodiment of the invention is a composition for reducing thebuildup of snow and ice on outdoor surfaces comprising a sugar-watermixture. A variety of sugars may be used within the scope of theinvention, and the sugars may be also be used in a variety ofconcentrations. For example, sugar concentrations as low as 5% may beuseful as de-icing agents without other additives to the de-icing agent.Sugar concentrations as low as 1% may be useful as de-icing agents whenmixed with a brine solution.. Another embodiment of the composition ofthe invention comprises adding a brine solution to the sugar-watermixture. A variety of salts, including magnesium chloride, may be usedwithin the scope of the invention. The brine mixture and the sugar-watermixture may be combined in varying amounts to form the composition ofthe invention.

[0009] Another embodiment of the invention is a method for reducing thebuildup of snow and ice on outdoor surfaces comprising applying asugar-water mixture to the surface of the outdoor surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010]FIG. 1 is a graph showing phase data for embodiments of theinvention compared to prior art de-icers.

[0011]FIG. 2 is a chart depicting the melting capacity for variousembodiments of the composition of the invention compared to prior artblends.

[0012]FIG. 3 is a chart that shows phase data for various embodiments ofthe invention, as well as for various prior art blends.

[0013]FIG. 4 is a chart showing the ice penetration for rock saltcompared to rock salt treated with a composition of the invention.

[0014]FIG. 5 is a graph showing the percent increase in ice penetrationof rock salt treated with a composition of the invention compared tountreated rock salt.

[0015]FIG. 6 is a chart showing the reduced corrosion caused by onecomposition of the invention over prior art blends.

[0016]FIG. 7 is a second chart showing the reduced corrosion caused byone composition of the invention over prior art blends.

[0017]FIG. 8 is a graph showing the viscosity of a composition of theinvention compared to the viscosity of prior art blends.

[0018]FIG. 9 is a graph of the friction value for a dry road compared toa road treated with an embodiment of the invention as the humidityvaries over time.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] A. General Overview

[0020] The de-icing embodiments of the invention discussed below may beused as anti-icing or de-icing agent on surfaces, such as outdoorsurfaces, or for pre-wetting of solids or pre-treating of stockpiles ofsolids to be used as anti-icing or de-icing agents. Any of thecompositions described below may be applied to surfaces at varying ratesas de-icing compositions.

[0021] One embodiment of the invention is a composition for reducing thebuildup of snow and ice on outdoor surfaces. In this embodiment, thecomposition contains a sweetwater (sugar-water) mixture. Anotherembodiment of the composition of the invention comprises adding a brinesolution to the sweetwater mixture. The brine mixture and the sweetwatermixture may be combined in varying amounts to form the composition ofthe invention. A corrosion inhibitor may also be added to thecomposition. In addition, a steepwater solubles mixture, which mayfunction partially as a corrosion inhibitor, may be added to thecomposition. The composition of the invention may contain sweetwaterand, optionally, any combination of brine, steepwater solubles, and acorrosion inhibitor. Further, the composition of the invention may, inone embodiment, contain any combination of the ingredients listed abovein a dry matter form.

[0022] A variety of sugars may be used within the scope of theinvention. In one embodiment, the invention may contain a sugar solution(sweetwater) with as little as 5% sugar solids. Such a mixture mayexhibit desirable corrosion characteristics and a sufficiently loweutectic point to suffice as a de-icing agent. In another embodiment,sweetwater may be mixed with a brine solution such that the mixture ofsweetwater and brine contains as little as 1% sugar solids, and themixture may suffice as a de-icing agent with beneficial characteristicsover a pure brine solution.

[0023] B. The Sugar of the Invention

[0024] Within the scope of the invention, a variety of sugars may beused, including but not limited to corn sugar, cane sugar, beet sugar,sorghum sugar, maple sugar, wheat sugar, tapioca sugar, potato sugar,cassava sugar, and manioca sugar. The composition of the invention maycontain a sugar-water mixture, or, in another embodiment, thecomposition may contain a de-icing agent that is a sugar solid. In oneembodiment of the invention, the sugar solid may contain approximately2-60 percent by weight of a monosaccharide. In other embodiments, thesugar solid may contain about 6-39 percent by weight of themonosaccharide, or 12-18 percent by weight of the monosaccharide solid.In yet other embodiments, the sugar solid may contain about 14 percentby weight of the monosaccharide. The term “monosaccharide” will be usedthroughout this specification to refer to a single molecule sugar unit,such as, but not limited to, dextrose. The balance of the sugar solidmay be polymers of dextrose.

[0025] One embodiment of the invention uses 25 Dextrose Equivalent(D.E.) corn syrup (CSU) in the sweetwater, although other varieties ofcorn syrups may also be used. One suitable 25 D.E. corn syrup has thefollowing profile: 77.5% solids 5.0 pH 0.3% ash carbohydrate profile ona dry solid basis (D.S.B.) dextrose: 8% maltose: 8% malt-triose: 8%higher saccharides: 76%

[0026] The 25 D.E. corn syrup may be diluted with water to about 40percent solids, although any concentration of 25 D.E. corn syrup couldbe used, such as 30-70 percent solids. This 25 D.E. corn syrup dilutedto 40 percent solids may then be mixed with other substances, inparticular chloride salts, in varying ratios to produce a mixture withdesired melting capacities and corrosion characteristics. It should benoted that the final percent solids in the mixture may be a significantnumber for performance of the mixtures of the invention.

[0027] Another embodiment of the invention uses 36 D.E. corn syrup (CSU)in the sweetwater. One suitable 36 D.E. corn syrup has the followingcarbohydrate profile on a dry solid basis:

[0028] dextrose: 14%

[0029] maltose: 11.5%

[0030] malt-triose: 10.5%

[0031] higher saccharides: 64%

[0032] In addition, 43 D.E. corn syrup, 63 D.E. corn syrup, and othercorn syrups could also be used in the sweetwater. The corn syrup orother sweetwater of the invention may be used in varying percent sugarsolids. For example, in one embodiment, the corn syrup or sweetwater mayhave a sugar solids percent of about 15-90 percent. In otherembodiments, the corn syrup or sweetwater may have 15-80 percent sugarsolids, 30-75 percent sugar solids, 40-70 percent sugar solids, 50-70percent sugar solids, or 60 percent sugar solids. The corn syrup usedwithin the scope of the invention may be made by any process known tothose skilled in the art, including a wet corn milling process.

[0033] In one embodiment, a sugar profile of the corn syrup may be about2-60 percent dextrose, 2-60 percent maltose, 2-60 percent maltotriose,and 15-80 percent polymers of dextrose. In another embodiment, the sugarprofile of the corn syrup may be about 14 percent dextrose, 11-12percent maltose, 10-11 percent maltotriose, and 64 percent polymers ofdextrose. In still other embodiments, the sugar solid containsapproximately 6-40 percent by weight of the monosaccharide,approximately 12-18 percent by weight of the monosaccharide, orapproximately 14 percent by weight of the monosaccharide.

[0034] C. Salt and Additives

[0035] As noted above, a variety of additives may be mixed to thesweetwater solution within the scope of the invention to enhance theperformance characteristics of the sweetwater as a de-icing composition.A variety of chloride salts, including magnesium chloride, calciumchloride, sodium chloride, or potassium chloride may be added to thesweetwater. Such salts may be added in widely varying quantities. In oneembodiment, a brine solution may be added to the sweetwater of thecomposition. In different embodiments, the brine mixture may containapproximately 15-70 percent salt, 15-60 percent salt, or 30-70 percentsalt.

[0036] Other additives that may enhance the performance of thesweetwater as a de-icing agent include rock salt, sand, cinders,abrasives, gravel, urea, calcium magnesium acetate (CMA), potassiumacetate (KAC), and any other additives known to those skilled in theart. Other additives, such as lactic acid, glycerol, citric acid, oracetic acid may also be added to the sweetwater within the scope of theinvention. In addition, thickeners known to those skilled in the art,such as xanthum gum, may be used to enhance the viscosity profile of theembodiments of the invention. It should be noted that a mixture of theinvention containing CMA may form a product that is more environmentallyfriendly and offers improved corrosion characteristics over a productcontaining a salt solution, as chloride salts can cause numerousenvironmental problems on both land and in water.

[0037] In one embodiment, a sweetwater composition may be mixed with a30% magnesium chloride brine, which is commonly available and usedcommercially as a road de-icer. Other concentrations of magnesiumchloride brine or other brine solutions may also be used. The magnesiumchloride brine and sweetwater may be mixed in a number of differentratios, each of which produces different performance characteristics.

[0038] D. The Corrosion Inhibitor

[0039] One embodiment of the composition of the invention contains acorrosion inhibitor. Any commercially available corrosion inhibitor maybe used within the scope of the invention. One such corrosion inhibitoris sodium citrate, which may have a 7.0 pH. The sodium citrate (7.0 pH)solution may be added to the mixture to enhance the corrosioncharacteristics of the product.

[0040] The composition of the invention may also contain additionaladditives to enhance the properties of the mixtures. For example,steepwater (sometimes referred to as s.w., condensed fermented cornextractives, or steepwater solubles) may be used as an additive invarying amounts to enhance corrosion characteristics and/or othercharacteristics of the invention. The term “corrosion inhibitor,”therefore, may refer to any commercially available product to inhibitcorrosion, or to any blend of corrosion inhibiting products, including ablend of steepwater and sodium citrate. In one embodiment, thesteepwater may be about 20 to 80 percent by weight solids with thebalance being water. In other embodiments, the steepwater may be about30-70 percent solids, 40-60 percent solids, or 50 percent solids.

[0041] The steepwater used within the scope of the invention may be madeby any type of process known to those skilled in the art. In one typicalsteeping process, corn is soaked in water for about 20 to 40 hours.Approximately 0.1 percent sulfur dioxide is added to the water tofacilitate the steeping process. The corn then begins to soften andswell. The mild acidity of the water loosens the gluten bonds within thecorn and releases the starch. The corn is then removed and goes on tofurther processing. The resulting water in the tank is called light cornsteep liquor, which may be condensed into steepwater (condensed cornsteep liquor). Different processing plants may have variations in theanalysis of the steepwater produced depending on the process and thecomposition of the corn. Some wet corn milling plants also produceethanol, with the resulting wet distillers solubles co-product beingfrequently added to the steepwater with the resulting mixture stillbeing referred to as steepwater. As used in this specification,therefore, “steepwater” refers to a blend of the steepwater producedfrom wet corn milling or to the steepwater produced from wet cornmilling with distillers solubles or corn syrup refinery insolubles. Anyliquid byproduct from agricultural processing that is used in an animalfeed of the invention may be produced in any manner known to thoseskilled in the art.

[0042] E. Examples

[0043] In one embodiment, the sweetwater composition may be combinedwith a steepwater solubles-water admixture containing approximately 20to 80 percent by weight of steepwater solubles. This embodiment may alsocontain a brine mixture containing approximately 15 to 60 percent salt.In one embodiment, this composition may contain about 50-95 percent byvolume of the brine mixture, 5-50 percent by volume of the sugar-watermixture, and 0.5-5 percent by volume of the corrosion inhibitor.

[0044] In another embodiment, about 1-10 percent by volume of acorrosion inhibitor may be mixed with about 90-99 percent of asugar-water mixture to form the composition of the invention. Typically,however, a corrosion inhibitor may only be needed in embodiments of thecomposition that contain a chloride brine. In addition, steepwater,which may serve as a corrosion inhibitor, may, in some embodiments, onlybe used in embodiments of the invention that contain chloride brines.

[0045] In another embodiment, the composition may have approximately15-50 percent by weight on a dry basis of a sugar solid, approximately60-90 percent by weight on a dry basis of a salt, and approximately0.05-2 percent by weight on a dry basis of a corrosion inhibitor.

[0046] In still other embodiments, a sugar-water mixture havingapproximately 15 to 80 percent by weight of a sugar solid may be addedwith a brine containing 15-40% salt by weight to form the composition ofthe invention. A corrosion inhibitor may also be added to thiscomposition to form a composition having approximately 50-95 percent byvolume of the brine, 5-50 percent by volume of the sugar-water mixture,and 0.5-5 percent by volume of the corrosion inhibitor.

[0047] In another embodiment, a steepwater solubles-water admixture maybe combined with a sugar-water mixture and a brine mixture to form thecomposition of the invention. In such an embodiment, the composition maycontain about 80 percent by weight of the brine mixture, 6 to 7 percentby weight of the steepwater solubles-water admixture, and 13 to 14percent by weight of the sugar-water mixture. In another variation, sucha composition may contain about 50-95 percent by volume of the brinemixture, 0.5-20 percent by volume of the steepwater solubles-wateradmixture, and 5-50 percent by volume of the sugar-water mixture.

[0048] In one embodiment, the composition may have about 90-95 percentby volume of the sugar-water mixture, 4-9 percent by volume of thesteepwater solubles-water admixture, and 0.5-2 percent by volume of acorrosion inhibitor of sodium citrate.

[0049] One specific embodiment of the composition contains 42.5% byvolume of a 36 D.E. corn syrup at about 60 percent solids, 6.4 percentby volume of steepwater at about 50 percent solids, and 1.1 percentsodium citrate at about 32 percent solids. Such a material, which willbe referred to as Blend No. 1, could be mixed with varying amounts ofsteepwater, although in some embodiments, steepwater may only be used inembodiments of the blend containing chloride brines in which a corrosioninhibitor may be desired. If brine is added to Blend No. 1, therefore,it may also be desirable to add steepwater to the blend, which mayfunction as a corrosion inhibitor. In addition, magnesium chloridebrine, calcium chloride brine, or sodium chloride brine could be mixedwith Blend No. 1 to produce de-icing compositions.

[0050] Another embodiment of the invention is a blend of 25 D.E. cornsyrup at about 40 percent solids. Such a blend may be mixed withmagnesium chloride to form a blend of about 10 percent by volume of the25 D.E. corn syrup and 90 percent by volume of the magnesium chloridebrine. In other embodiments, the 25 D.E. corn syrup may be mixed withmagnesium chloride brine to form a product with a ratio of brine to cornsyrup of 80:20 or 60:40.

[0051] Blend No. 1 may be also be mixed with brines to form blends ofvarying composition. One blend, referred to throughout the attachedFIGS. 1-9 as “Caliber M1000,” may contain about 90 percent magnesiumchloride brine by volume and 10 percent of Blend No. 1 by volume.Another blend, referred to as “Caliber M2000,” may contain about 80percent magnesium chloride brine by volume and 20 percent of Blend No. 1by volume. Still other blends may have about 15 percent of Blend No. 1and 85 percent by volume of a calcium chloride brine. Such a blend isreferred to in FIGS. 1-9 as “Caliber C1500.” Another blend, referred toin FIGS. 1-9 as “Caliber C1000-LS,” may contain about 10 percent calciumchloride brine by volume and about 90 percent Blend No. 1 by volume.Another embodiment, referred to as “Caliber S1000,” may contain about 90percent sodium chloride brine by volume and 10 percent of Blend No. 1 byvolume.

[0052] FIGS. 1-9 depict various properties and characteristics ofembodiments of the invention. In general, a number of characteristicsmay be desirable for a de-icing composition of the invention, such as alow eutectic point, a pH near 7.0, and a low corrosion percentage. FIG.1 illustrates a phase data chart and diagram for one embodiment of theinvention, Caliber M1000, compared to a magnesium chloride brine, acalcium chloride brine, a sodium chloride brine, and a commercialproduct known as Ice Ban M80. The products referred to as “M50” and“M80” throughout this specification are commercially available productsknown as Ice Ban M50 and Ice Ban M80, and are manufactured and sold byNatural Solutions, Inc. of Chesapeake, Va. In FIG. 1, the percent solidsrefers to the overall percentage of solids in the solution tested, anddifferent percentages indicate that various amounts of water were addedto the solution tested. As FIG. 1, illustrates, the embodiment of theinvention referred to as Caliber M1000 has a lower eutectic point at apercent solid of about 30-34 percent and also at any point above about22 percent solids. FIG. 1 also shows that certain of the tested blends,such as magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, and sodium chloride, dropcrystals at certain percent solids, and hence the right end of the graphfor these blends veers upward. Such an effect does not take place withthe embodiment of the invention referred to as Caliber M1000. FIG. 3 isa chart that shows phase data (eutectic point at different percentsolids, which is referred to as “% DS” in FIG. 3) for variousembodiments of the invention, as well as for various prior art blends.

[0053]FIG. 2 is a chart depicting the melting capacity for variousembodiments of the composition of the invention compared to prior artblends. The reference to a melting capacity refers to the grams of icemelted per gram of product at varying temperatures (as shown on thehorizontal axis) in 20 minutes. FIG. 2 shows that the embodiment of theinvention referred to as Caliber M1000 has a melting capacity that comesclose to meeting or exceeding the melting capacity of other commonblends, and in particular a 30 percent magnesium chloride blend. At lowtemperatures, such as 0 deg. F. or −10 deg. F., FIG. 2 shows that theCaliber M1000 blend has a greater melting capacity than any of the otherlisted blends.

[0054]FIG. 4 is a chart showing the ice penetration for rock saltcompared to rock salt treated with Caliber M2000. To treat the rocksalt, 8 gallons of Caliber M2000 was added to each ton of rock salt. Thereference to ice penetration refers to the amount of penetration of theproduct in millimeters at 5 deg. F in 20 minutes. As FIG. 4 indicates,the treated rock salt has a greater penetration than the untreated rocksalt. FIG. 5 shows the percent increase in ice penetration of rock salttreated with Caliber M2000 as described above over untreated rock salt.FIG. 5 shows a significant increase in percent ice penetration for salttreated with compositions of the invention, particularly at lowtemperatures.

[0055] Reduced corrosion is one benefit of the compositions of theinvention, and FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrates such benefits. In FIGS. 6 and7, salt is the standard by which corrosiveness is measured, and salttherefore has a corrosion percent of 100 percent. Magnesium chloridebrine, as FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate, is slightly less corrosive than salt(sodium chloride). The embodiments of the invention described above asCaliber M2000 and Caliber M1000 have a significantly lower corrosiveeffect than salt—around 10 percent or less of the corrosiveness of salt.

[0056] In one embodiment, the composition of the invention is designedto be slightly more viscous than a chloride brine, which aids in theability to apply the composition to a surface, but less viscous than thecommercial product known as Ice Ban M50. FIG. 8 shows the viscosity ofchloride brines, two Ice Ban products, and an embodiment of thecomposition of the invention known as Caliber M1000. As FIG. 8 depicts,the viscosity profile changes with temperature. The viscosity of theembodiment known as Caliber M1000 has the desired viscosity profilebetween that of chloride brines and Ice Ban M50.

[0057]FIG. 9 is a graph of the friction value for a dry road compared toa road treated with Caliber M1000 as the humidity varies over time. AsFIG. 9 shows at the left hand side, a surface treated with Caliber M1000will be more slick than a dry road (i.e., a road with no moisture onit). The surface treated with Caliber M1000, however, will not besignificantly more slick than a wet road. As the humidity increases(between about 25 and 100 minutes on FIG. 9), the surface treated withCaliber M1000 is the least slick surface—less slick than a dry road. Theright hand side of FIG. 9 shows that when the humidity decreases, theslickness of the Caliber M1000 treated surface increases, but it doesnot get significantly more slick than a wet surface.

[0058] The embodiments of the invention discussed above offer a varietyof advantages over the prior art. One advantage is that the effectivetemperature range of the embodiments of the invention are considerablylower than commercially available brine solutions that are commonlyused. Such brine solutions are usually ineffective at temperatures belowapproximately 5 deg. F. The embodiments of the invention may thereforebe effective at lower temperatures and may have greater efficiency athigher temperatures than do currently available de-icing products.Another related advantage of the embodiments of the invention is a loweutectic point.

[0059] Other advantages of the embodiments of the invention include lowcorrosion, an enhanced or higher viscosity so that the product willremain on the road or surface of application for a longer period oftime, and increased ease of handling over commercially availableproducts. The embodiments of the invention may also reduce the impact onthe environment because the embodiments of the invention contain lesschloride than most commercially available de-icing products and areorganic and hence biodegradable. In addition, because the embodiments ofthe invention offer higher performance such that a smaller amount of theembodiments of the invention may have the same effect as a large amountof a prior art de-icing agent, smaller amounts of the embodiments of theinvention may be applied to a surface and less environmental harm willresult than for prior art de-icing agents.

[0060] While the present invention has been described with reference toseveral embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will recognizevarious changes that may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the claimed invention. Accordingly, this invention is notlimited to what is shown in the drawings and described in thespecification but only as indicated in the appended claims. Anynumbering or ordering of elements in the following claims is merely forconvenience and is not intended to suggest that the ordering of theelements of the claims has any particular significance other than thatotherwise expressed by the language of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A composition for reducing the buildup of- snowand ice on a surface, comprising: a sugar-water mixture havingapproximately 15 to 80 percent by weight of a sugar solid, wherein thesugar solid contains approximately 2-60 percent by weight of amonosaccharide.
 2. The composition of claim 1, wherein the sugar-watermixture contains approximately 40 percent by weight of the sugar solidand approximately 60 percent by weight of water.
 3. The composition ofclaim 1, further comprising a steepwater solubles-water admixturecontaining approximately 20 to 80 percent by weight of steepwatersolubles and approximately 20 to 80 percent by weight of water.
 4. Thecomposition of claim 1, further comprising a corrosion inhibitor.
 5. Thecomposition of claim 4, wherein the corrosion inhibitor is sodiumcitrate.
 6. The composition of claim 4, further comprising a brinemixture containing approximately 15 to 60 percent salt.
 7. Thecomposition of claim 6, wherein the composition comprises about 50-95percent by volume of the brine mixture, 5-50 percent by volume of thesugar-water mixture, and 0.5-5 percent by volume of the corrosioninhibitor.
 8. The composition of claim 6, wherein the salt is selectedfrom the group consisting of magnesium chloride, sodium chloride,calcium chloride, and potassium chloride.
 9. The composition of claim 1,wherein the sugar-water mixture is corn syrup.
 10. The composition ofclaim 9, wherein a sugar profile of the corn syrup is about 2-60 percentdextrose, 2-60 percent maltose, 2-60 percent maltotriose, and 15-80percent polymers of dextrose.
 11. The composition of claim 9, wherein asugar profile of the corn syrup is about 14 percent dextrose, 11-12percent maltose, 10-11 percent maltotriose, and 64 percent polymers ofdextrose.
 12. The composition of claim 1, wherein the sugar solidcontains approximately 6-40 percent by weight of the monosaccharide. 13.The composition of claim 1, wherein the sugar solid containsapproximately 12-18 percent by weight of the monosaccharide.
 14. Thecomposition of claim 1, wherein the sugar solid contains approximately14 percent by weight of the monosaccharide.
 15. A composition forreducing the buildup of snow and ice on a surface, comprising: ade-icing agent containing a sugar solid, wherein the sugar solidcontains approximately 2-60 percent by weight of a monosaccharide; andwater.
 16. The composition of claim 15, wherein the sugar solid containsapproximately 12-18 percent by weight of the monosaccharide.
 17. Thecomposition of claim 16, further comprising a salt selected from thegroup consisting of magnesium chloride, sodium chloride, calciumchloride, and potassium chloride.
 18. The composition of claim 17,further comprising a corrosion inhibitor.
 19. A composition for reducingthe buildup of snow and ice on a surface, comprising: a de-icing agentcontaining a sugar solid, wherein the sugar solid contains approximately2-60 percent by weight of a monosaccharide; and a corrosion inhibitor.20. The composition of claim 19, further comprising a salt selected fromthe group consisting of magnesium chloride, sodium chloride, calciumchloride, and potassium chloride.
 21. The composition of claim 19,wherein the sugar solid contains approximately 12-18 percent by weightof the monosaccharide.
 22. The composition of claim 19, wherein thesugar solid contains approximately 14 percent by weight of themonosaccharide.
 23. The composition of claim 19, wherein the sugar solidis mixed with water to form a sugar-water mixture, and wherein thecomposition contains approximately 1-10 percent of the corrosioninhibitor and 90-99 percent of the sugar-water mixture.
 24. Acomposition for reducing the buildup of snow and ice on outdoorsurfaces, comprising: a mixture of: approximately 15-50 percent byweight on a dry basis of a sugar solid, wherein the sugar solid containsapproximately 2-60 percent by weight of a monosaccharide; approximately60-90 percent by weight on a dry basis of a salt; and approximately0.05-2 percent by weight on a dry basis of a corrosion inhibitor. 25.The composition of claim 24, further comprising water.
 26. A compositionfor reducing the buildup of snow and ice on a surface, comprising: asugar-water mixture having approximately 15 to 80 percent by weight of asugar solid, wherein the sugar solid contains approximately 2-60 percentby weight of a monosaccharide; and a brine, wherein the brine contains15-40% salt by weight.
 27. The composition of claim 26, furthercomprising a corrosion inhibitor.
 28. The composition of claim 27,wherein the composition contains approximately 50-95 percent by volumeof the brine, 5-50 percent by volume of the sugar-water mixture, and0.5-5 percent by volume of the corrosion inhibitor.
 29. The compositionof claim 26, wherein the sugar-water mixture is corn syrup.
 30. Thecomposition of claim 29, wherein the corn syrup is 25 DE corn syrup. 31.The composition of claim 29, wherein the corn syrup is 36 DE corn syrup.32. A composition for reducing the buildup of snow and ice on an outdoorsurface, comprising: a sugar-water mixture having approximately 15 to 80percent by weight of a sugar solid, wherein the sugar solid containsapproximately 2-60 percent by weight of a monosaccharide; and acorrosion inhibitor.
 33. A composition for reducing the buildup of snowand ice on outdoor surfaces comprising: (a) a steepwater solubles-wateradmixture; (b) a sugar-water mixture combined with the steepwatersolubles-water admixture; and (c) a brine mixture added to thesteepwater solubles-water admixture and the sugar-water mixture.
 34. Thecomposition of claim 33, wherein the steepwater solubles-water admixturecontains approximately 30-70 percent by weight of steepwater solublesand 30-70 percent by weight of water.
 35. The composition of claim 33,wherein the sugar-water mixture contains approximately 15-80 percent byweight of sugar.
 36. The composition of claim 33, wherein the brinemixture contains approximately 30-70 percent salt.
 37. The compositionof claim 33, wherein the composition contains about 80 percent by weightof the brine mixture, 6 to 7 percent by weight of the steepwatersolubles-water admixture, and 13 to 14 percent by weight of thesugar-water mixture.
 38. The composition of claim 33, wherein thecomposition contains about 50-95 percent by volume of the brine mixture,0.5-20 percent by volume of the steepwater solubles-water admixture, and5-50 percent by volume of the sugar-water mixture.
 39. A method forreducing the buildup of snow and ice on an outdoor surface, comprising:applying to the outdoor surface a composition comprising: sugar-watermixture having approximately 15 to 80 percent by weight of a sugarsolid, wherein the sugar solid contains approximately 2-60 percent byweight of a monosaccharide.
 40. The method of claim 39, wherein thecomposition further comprises a corrosion inhibitor.
 41. The method ofclaim 40, wherein the corrosion inhibitor is sodium citrate.
 42. Themethod of claim 40, wherein the composition further comprises a brinemixture containing approximately 15 to 60 percent salt.
 43. Acomposition for reducing the buildup of snow and ice on an outdoorsurface, comprising: a sugar-water mixture having approximately 15 to 80percent by weight of a sugar solid, wherein the sugar solid containsapproximately 2-60 percent by weight of a monosaccharide; a corrosioninhibitor; and a steepwater solubles-water admixture.
 44. Thecomposition of claim 43, wherein the corrosion inhibitor is sodiumcitrate, wherein the steepwater solubles-water admixture is 40-60percent solids, and wherein the sugar-water mixture is corn syrup havingabout 50-70 percent solids.
 45. The composition of claim 44, wherein thecomposition contains about 90-95 percent by volume of the sugar-watermixture, 4-9 percent by volume of the steepwater solubles-wateradmixture, and 0.5-2 percent by volume of the corrosion inhibitor.